Cheated
by RonWeasleyismiking
Summary: Pepper catches Tony with his assistant. Rated T for some language


Disclaimer: I don't own IronMan.

Cheated

"Pepper! Stop, please!" Tony pleaded as he threw his 2011 Audi into park, running after his wife. She had left her car running; the passenger door was still ajar. He sprinted into the house after her, "Jarvis. Where is she?"

"Mrs. Stark is currently waking up Jason, sir" _Fuck. _Tony felt his heart sink. He took the steps to the third floor two at a time.

"Pepper!" He turned the corner and entered Jason's room. Pepper was handing her son his backpack.

"Pack some clothes, okay bud?" Jason, the six-year-old version of Tony, nodded his head vigorously.

"Where are we going, mommy?"

"Nowhere, Jas. Go back to bed" Tony ordered.

"Tony! Pepper barked at him, she bent down to her sons eye level, "we're going on a trip, kiddo. Okay?"

"Okay" he looked at his father for approval; Tony just nodded and followed his wife out of the bedroom.

"Pepper, please just stop and hear me out!" Pepper stopped so quickly, that Tony nearly ran into her.

"Hear you out? Really, Tony. And why should I do that? I think I heard enough of you moaning some other woman's name about thirty minutes ago"

"I—" Pepper held up her hand, silencing Tony before he had a chance to defend himself.

"I don't want to hear it, Tony. I had to witness you sleeping with another woman, and I really don't want to hear you come up with some bullshit to try and lie to me"

"Pepper, I'm so fucking sorry. I know everyone says this, but that was the first time. I don't know what happened, she brought me in some papers to sign, and the next thing I knew…" he trailed off. Pepper laughed bitterly.

"Your wife caught you in the act" Tony nodded; too ashamed to look at Pepper in the eye.

"Pepper, I am so sorry," they had reached their room. Pepper walked straight into the closet, and began throwing clothes into a duffel, "No! Please don't pack"

"You fucked up Tony"

"I know I did! I'm trying to apologize, Pepper!" He yelled, as he watched her zip up the bag, and move into the bathroom.

"I heard your apology, Tony. It doesn't mean I have to forgive you. You broke a vow Tony" she held up her ring finger. Tony closed his eyes, a few angry tears escaped.

"Pepper, please…" He got on his knees and hugged her, crying softly into her stomach. Pepper stopped her packing momentarily, and looked at her husband.

"Don't fucking touch me" he refused to let her go, only holding onto her middle harder.

"No, Pepper, we can save us" Pepper laughed.

"We're too far gone for that, Tony. I know this wasn't the first time you fucked another woman. It was just the first time you got caught" Tony looked up, tears spilling down his face, Pepper didn't even blink.

"No, Pepper. It's never happened before. Juliet—"

"Don't say her name"

"Pepper, I'm so sorry"

"I knew something was going on. You've been spending too much time at the office, and you hired that twenty-year-old Lakers cheerleader… I should have known.." Pepper trailed off, her eyes becoming misty.

"No, Pepper, this never happened before. You've got to believe me"

Pepper continued, never hearing Tony, "Guy's night, every Thursday…" she looked up at him, tears spilling out, "you've been doing this all year, haven't you?"

"No, Pepper" Tony said, raising his hands.

"So you're telling me if I called up Rhodey right now, he could vouch for you?" Tony nodded.

"Pepper, do I even need to answer that. I fucked up. But this was the first time" For some reason Pepper believed him. She grabbed her toothbrush off the counter and threw it into the bag. Tony groaned.

"Please don't leave me" She turned to face him, throwing the bag over her shoulder.

"I'll be back tomorrow for the rest of mine and the kids stuff. I don't want you here" Tony opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. He runs his fingers through his hair in anger.

"Fuck me" he mutters as he follows his wife out of their bedroom. He grabs her hand, and forces her into a one sided embrace.

"Tony" she forces out. She tried escaping his grasp, but he holds on, "please, Tony"

"I love you" he whispers in her ear.

"Liar" she whispered. Tony felt like he'd been stabbed in the chest. He spun her around, keeping her in his strong hold. They simply stared at each other, both silently crying. Tony puts a hand on her cheek. Pepper turned her head as if she had been slapped.

"Oh, Pepper" Tony leaned down and kissed her lips slowly. He was surprised that Pepper allowed it to go on as long as it did. He pulled back, "Stay. Let's talk about this tomorrow"

"I can't stay here, Tony. I can't even look at you" She pushed away from him, and readjusted her bag.

"Pepper, you can't leave me. I'll go"

"I don't want to be in this house, Tony. I'm going to get a hotel room with the kids for the night"

"No, you can't take my kids away from me" Tony pleaded, wiping away a few tears. Pepper slapped him.

"You did this to yourself Tony" Pepper said as she walked out of the room. Tony's hand rubbed the spot where Pepper had slapped him. _He really fucked up. _

He watched her pick up their sleeping daughter, Katherine, and realized that he was actually going to lose his family over this one mistake. He never thought that he'd cheat on Pepper, but he'd had a few drinks, and Juliet was very pretty… Pepper was right, he really should never have hired that Laker Cheerleader. _How did it come to this?_

"Please, just give me another shot" Tony heard himself say.

Pepper ignored him, and walked back into Jason's room. "Jason, you ready?" Jason nodded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Pepper…" Tony mumbled as he followed his family down the stairs and outside.

"Jason, say goodbye to daddy, okay?" Jason nodded and threw his small arms around Tony, hugging him tightly.

"Bye, daddy!" Jason said as Tony felt his heart break as he hugged his son.

"I love you" Tony whispered, tears streaming down his face.

"Love you too" Jason yawned, as he released his dad, and grabbed his mom's hand. Pepper handed Tony their one-year-old daughter, while she buckled Jason into his car seat.

"Love you, Katie" Tony whispered, as he kissed his sleeping daughter. He walked around the car and put her in her seatbelt. He closed the door slowly, and walked around the front and stood in front of the driver's door, blocking Pepper.

"Tony" Pepper warned, her voice wavering.

"If you leave now you're not giving us a chance" Tony said, reaching for her. Pepper pushed his hand away.

"I gave you a chance all these years, Tony. All my friends warned me about you. I mean you'd always been a playboy, but I thought once I settled you down, you'd change. And then we had children, and I thought for sure you'd always love me. Obviously I was proven wrong" Her eyes were still red, but it seemed that her body was unable to produce anymore tears.

"Pepper, I will always love you. I just… I don't know what happened.. It didn't— she doesn't mean anything to me" He pulled her against him, wrapping him around her securely. Pepper pulled away after a few moments, and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I'll miss you," she said, softly. She pulled her wedding ring off of her finger and placed it in Tony's hand. He clenched it tightly as he watched her drive out of his life forever.

~FIN

A/N- thanks for reading. I know it isn't happy, but I mean, not everything in life should work out picture perfect, and I've had this story in my head for a while. I mean I think that Pepper and Tony make a perfect couple, but how realistic is it that Tony would go from sleeping with everything with a skirt, to being only faithful to Pepper. He's such a playboy in the first movie.. Let me know if you liked it, even if you didn't like the ending. Thanks!


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